Trust Doesn't Come So Easy
by Infinite Stupidity
Summary: What if Edward had a dirty little secret? What if Bella found out? Set after Eclipse. No Nessie. When two broken hearts mend each other, the fallout can be massive. Especially when one of those hearts belongs to a vampire. AU JxB adult themes/profanity
1. Chapter 1

I sighed in content as the movie credits rolled across the screen. Edward's arms tightened around me when I turned to look at him. I could feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke far too quietly for my human hearing. He met my questioning look with his breathtaking crooked smile. We lay sprawled across the cream couch, me leaning against Edward's perfect, hard, cold chest. As I looked around, everyone seemed to be in similar positions; Alice sat in Jasper's lap on a large, squishy looking beanbag on the floor, Rosalie and Emmett sat on one of the love seat in a relaxed embrace, and Carlisle and Esme sat on the other. Carlisle's hand was around Esme's waist and they were whispering in each other's ears too low, I guessed, even for the vampires that sat around me to hear. I'm sure Jasper wasn't even projecting his emotions when I say that the room was so full of love at that moment, both familial and romantic. I stretched, yawning slightly, and made to get up.

"Thanks for the movie night everyone, but I gotta go. Charlie's head will explode if I turn up at," I consulted my watch quickly. "Whoa! Midnight? My curfew is still ten thirty! Aww crap. . ." I tried desperately to think of an excuse, coming up with . . . nothing. Emmett's booming laugh sent vibrations through my chest cavity and Alice jumped up from Jasper's lap.

"Don't worry Bella! Charlie has a soft spot for me, I'll bail you out of trouble!" she gave me a sly wink and a dramatic nudge-nudge gesture. I sighed and nodded my head. Frankly, I didn't think anything was going to distract Charlie from my punishment for being out an hour and a half later than curfew with none other than – gulp – Edward. Charlie was going to FLIP if he thought I had been with Edward. I still hadn't forgotten the attempted sex talk he tried to give me last year. Now THAT was horrible. It was like a new form of torture! Edward pulled me from my thoughts by kissing me on the forehead.

"Don't worry love. Alice says he won't be a problem." He flashed me another one of those dazzling smiles and proceeded to shoving me out of the door and out to Alice's car.

"Which means you had better get home now if you want to avoid any more trouble than you're already in!" he laughed at my sour expression and opened my door for me. I leaned up to give him a kiss goodbye, but his hands were restraining. Again. This time though, the amused glint in his eye was missing, and upon closer inspection, the knowing smirk that normally graced his lips seemed slightly forced. It was these symptoms that should have warned me. This was exactly the way he had acted last time. I didn't want to believe it though, and pushed the thought hastily from my mind.

"Love, I'm afraid that we are going on an extended hunt. All of us. We're leaving tonight but I will be back tomorrow night. I'm sorry, I know you don't like it when I leave you for a couple of days, so I shortened my own trip. Alice and the others will be gone until Saturday. I will see you tomorrow night, okay?" I nodded and forced my own smile back on my face. It tore at me to think that Edward was losing time with his family for my sake. But I couldn't quite make myself tell him to take a few days instead of one. Alice started the engine, and Edward ducked my head into the car. He stood waving for all of the three seconds we were in view before Alice burst through the trees and onto the freeway. She continued driving in silence leaving me to wonder where on earth she was taking me.

"Alice?" Alice had a slightly crazed look in her eye as she pulled furiously on the wheel. She pulled over at the side of the road, and her features relaxed a little bit.

"They can't hear us here. I'm sorry if I frightened you there Bella, but I need to get this out, and you're the only one I can talk to about it, and Rosalie didn't want to hear it, and I couldn't tell Esme and . . ." she was babbling so I put my hand over her mouth.

"Alice. Whatever it is I will try and support you. You are my best friend and I don't like seeing you so distressed and thank you for feeling that you can come to me about an issue you're dealing with." I informed her curtly, but at the same time giving her a reassuring smile. She slumped down in her seat and let out a long sigh. I tried to be patient, and after what seemed like years, she finally whispered something that put my brain into overload.

"I'm leaving Jasper." What? How could she leave Jasper? This was wrong on so many levels! She was all loved up with him five minutes ago, and now she's LEAVING him?

"Excuse me, what?" I must have misheard, because she could not possibly be leaving the love of her life.

"I said, I'm leaving Jasper. I don't love him anymore. I have seen the future, and I see myself travelling alone. Jasper isn't in my future anymore Bella." She looked at me with pleading eyes, and my shoulders fell in defeat.

"Why?" I heard myself ask weakly. She shrugged and I could tell there was something she was hiding.

"It's yet to happen, but it will be soon. I just don't see myself with him. I think that fate told me to bring him to the Cullens and we bonded on our journey here. I mistook that for true love." I tried to keep my promise and decided that my friend needed me right now and that I shouldn't voice any of my opinions that were racing through my mind at that very moment. I nodded slowly and Alice's eyes were swimming with tears she could never shed.

"I'm not going to say I agree with your decision . . . but I will support you and Jasper through this. If Jasper needs my support that is. . ." I was thinking of how distant he was with me, though I greatly suspected that Edward had something to do with that. He just did not trust Jasper around me anymore, not after my birthday. I never did blame Jasper for that. How could I? But Edward, over-protective as usual, went to extra measures to make sure I was never alone with Jasper or I was with at least two people while around him. Edward didn't realise that I knew exactly what he was doing and I resented him slightly for it. He was denying me an opportunity to get to know Jasper as a brother and friend and I felt deprived; if Edward continued this charade I would never know the real Jasper for who he truly was. All I knew was a shy and guarded man whose love for Alice ran so deep that even I, the one person who barely knew him in this family, could see that he looked towards her as his sun. I realised then just how hurt and broken he would be when Alice left. He depended on her much more than he let it be known.

"Thank you, Bella. That's all I ask for. I know how it will affect Jasper. I have seen it. He will need all the support and love he can receive. It hurts me dearly to know that I will cause him so much pain . . ." I nodded and put my arm around her tiny cold frame in a comforting gesture. She looked up at me through fraught eyes and gave me the most heart-wrenching smile I had ever seen.

"Lets get you back to Charlie. The less trouble you're in from him, the less trouble I'm in from Edward!" And with that lighter note, she pulled back onto the road and sped back to Forks. Charlie didn't put up too much of a fuss when Alice came out with some excuse about us being in Port Angeles, ("Oh, yes, she was helping me spring clean my closet . . . I know it's winter, all the better reason to do it!") and I trudged upstairs to my awaiting bedroom. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on the bed fully clothed, dreading the day ahead without Edward.

Morning came far too quickly for my tired eyes and I grudgingly dragged myself from my bed to take a shower. Twenty minutes and some of my favourite strawberry shampoo later, I put on a plain white blouse and some faded jeans. I wasn't dressing to impress anyone today. I left the house not bothering with breakfast, far too eager to get the day over with so I could see Edward tonight. It felt wrong, waking up by myself without the solid cold arms enveloping me protectively.

After beating off Mike's daily advances, (hello, I'm taken!) and keeping my lips tightly pressed together as Jessica tried to get me to dish on what happened when they left, (she still hadn't left that alone even though it had been almost two years now, and frequently tried to crack me every time Edward and Alice were hunting) I wearily pulled out of the school parking lot in my rusted red van. The drive didn't last long enough, and too soon I was home. My algebra homework usually dominated my evening, but today's was something that I understood perfectly for once. The clock read five o'clock, and I figured that it wouldn't be too early now. Besides, by the time my decrepit truck made the journey, it would have eaten up another half hour. The winding drive of the Cullen estate seemed short tonight in my excitement and I burst from the trees. Edward's Volvo was parked in front of the white mansion and I spotted a flash of canary yellow from the open garage. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Em must not be back yet. The open garage really ticked me off. Stupid vampires took everything for granted just because they had money to burn. My mental rambling continued as I approached the front door. I stopped in my tracks as I heard heavy metal blaring so loud I could hear it through the door. Perhaps Alice was taking her gothic look a bit further? Confused, I opened the door and my hair began twitching. The sound waves were strong enough to create a breeze? Damn, that was hurting my ears, so what was it doing to a vampire? The din was coming from upstairs and I decided to visit Edward in his room. That way, I could investigate the music at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone, Swan, nice thinking I mentally congratulated myself. I passed Alice's room and was shocked to realise that there was only silence emanating from it. Edward was listening to metal? I stopped outside his door on the top landing and raised my hand to knock. My hand rapped smartly on the sturdy wood and I waited no answer. I tried again. No answer. Oh well, I thought, he'll just have to put up with me coming in. And if he's not decent . . . all the better for me! I giggled at the image my mind conjured up for me and pushed the door open eagerly. And then I saw them.

He was pinning Alice to the wall, her eyes closed, legs wrapped around his waist. He was kissing down her collar bone moving further down between the collar of her unbuttoned shirt until he reached her bra, both of them totally unaware of my presence. . . I tore my eyes from them and looked around for his stereo. I strode over to it and slammed my finger down on the 'off' button harder than necessary. The music cut off, leaving a dull ringing in my ears, but I didn't care. I was seeing red. All I could think was "Again? How many times must he hurt me?" The two froze at the lack of noise and Alice's eyes slid open, her black irises locking on my brown. Her sharp intake of breath was mirrored by Edward's as he saw me glaring at them through her thoughts.

"Edward. What is going on here?" my voice was deathly calm, which surprised even myself. He dropped Alice and turned to stare at me with pleading eyes.

"Please . . . Bella . . . I'm sor-" I cut him off quickly.

"Don't you dare tell me you are sorry! You weren't sorry when you were messing around with Alice! You're only sorry you got caught!" My voice had risen until I was shouting at the top of my voice.

"No, I'm sorry you found out like this." His quiet statement didn't budge me. The fact that he turned up his eyes to full power on my pissed me off to no end. He was trying to dazzle his way out of this?

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare try to dazzle me, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! That will not get you out of trouble and I will not forgive you for this, so don't try!" He looked so ashamed and that just fuelled my anger. He better be fucking ashamed! It must be the anger talking, because I would have never used so many profanities. Unfortunately, my anger was hotwired to my tear ducts. Damn it!

"I'm so sorry." He whispered so quietly that I almost didn't hear him.

"Whatever Edward. And you!" I rounded on Alice, who was standing awkwardly in the corner. She had buttoned up her silky blouse to hide her bra, but she was only wearing that and her panties.

"This is why you told me you were leaving Jasper, isn't it?" she nodded silently, eyes downcast.

"How cliché, though! My fiancé and my best friend! And Alice, your husband's brother! You disgust me. I never want to see either of you again. Stay out of my life, and I'm sure Jasper will say the same. Edward, if you try and come near me again, I swear we will see just how effective Charlie's tazer is on vampires." He winced at my threat and opened his mouth to speak. I furiously shook my head at him and he closed it, defeated. I noticed the black Mercedes coming up the drive from the window.

"Home early? Or was that a lie to keep me away from the house while the two of you snuck around behind my back?" I sniffed, giving them one last withering glare, and stalked from the room. I heard car doors slam from outside and was met at the bottom of the stairs by an exasperated Jasper.

"Bella, what's wrong? What's going on? Your emotions are going haywire! And . . . are Alice and Edward upstairs? I thought they were hunting?" I tried to keep my voice neutral and almost felt bad as I said what I said next.

"Alice and Edward have been hiding a big secret from the two of us. Why don't you go ask your _wife_ about it?" I couldn't help the venom creep into my voice, simply because I hated Alice for what she had done to this family. Even if I hadn't found them, she still would have left Jasper and that would destroy him. At least the anger associated with this would probably numb the pain slightly. But only slightly. Jasper flitted up the stairs as the rest of the family rushed through the front door. Well, everyone except Rosalie, that is. She sauntered in behind them with a sneer on her beautiful face. Carlisle's expression was worried.

"Bella? Where's Jasper? Is that Alice and Edward I hear?" Confusion was plain in his voice and I pointed towards the stairs; I didn't trust my voice anymore. Esme rushed towards me and pulled me into a loving embrace while Emmett worriedly looked on. I almost went into shock when Rosalie moved forward, hands outstretched, as if she wanted to comfort me in some way. He features were etched with sadness and another emotion I couldn't quite place. Esme's gentle hands stilled from wiping away my falling tears that I had only just noticed and cocked her head towards the stairs. And so it begins. . .

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**Hey guys! Sorry if there are any grammar and/or spelling mistakes, I tried to do my best with this chapter! Also, sorry if it's a little short but I thought that this would be a really good place to end it before all the good stuff starts. I've been having a little trouble with my Orange Box so I have been reading FF through the internet channel on my Wii- thus, no updates or new stories. Once again, sorry!!! I didn't want to cut you off in the middle of the excitement so I will work my little fingers to the bone to get it to you ASAP! I would love to hear what you think about this story – Love it? Hate it? Okay? Delete your FF profile, you suck ass and you should jump off a bridge? I want to hear it. Give me your best shot! Flames are welcome in this story (I know I have asked you not to leave them in previous stories, but I might get some good advice from them! Lol) **

**Hannah x~x~x**

**See that little green button? Right down there? Yeah, that one. I dare you. Go on. Click it. I know you want to. Hell, ****you**** know you want to!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- I am Soooo SORRY! I finally got my internet working and I will update you with two chappies one after the other riiighhtttt. . . .NOW! :D**

_Previously: And so it begins._

"HIM?" shocked silence.

"No, Jazz, please!" I could hear her pleading with her.

"No, that's impossible. They didn't . . ." Esme was trying to reassure herself. Carlisle approached me.

"Bella, what happened?" I shook my head, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall. Edward, now fully dressed, appeared at the top of the stairs behind me.

"Bella-" He moved to reach out to me but I flinched away from his touch. A second later, Jasper was by my side, his eyes a deathly coal colour. His lips were pulled back over his teeth in a ferocious snarl that was directed at Edward.

"Don't touch her!" he spat. I could see Edward start to protest but was quickly silenced by the thoughts of Jasper and most likely his whole family. Emmett looked especially menacing as he approached Edward slowly. I looked down at my shaking hands and noticed Elizabeth Masen's ring still on my left hand. I stood up on buckling legs and Jasper grabbed my elbow to support me, his features immediately concerned and worried much to Edward's displeasure by the sounds of the snarl that was almost too low for me to hear.

"Bella, are you alright?" I shook my head. Of course I wasn't. I had just caught my husband-to-be cheating on me with my best friend. I struggled to pull the gold band off of my sweaty finger and tossed it at Edward's feet with a glare.

"Here, maybe you can give it to you're little fuck-buddy," I spat, much to the astonishment of the family. I had ever spoken like that around any of them, but they weren't complaining at this moment in time.

"How could you?" I whispered, before turning on my heel and running out to my truck. I could hear yelling coming from inside, but didn't join in. Instead I sat in my truck cab a wept.

I cried for Edward, I cried for the loss of my best friend, and most of all I cried for Jasper. He had been with Alice for so long, only to find that she had been going behind his back with his own brother. Do the clichés ever end? Does it not hurt enough to have something like this happen only a month before I was wed? My sobs were loud and harsh, dragging at my throat like razors and I was gasping for air. I couldn't breath. I heard a light tapping on the window but ignored it. _I couldn't breath. _My vision started to hazy and dark around the edges and I felt myself falling forward. The door opened swiftly and I hit ice cold. The last thing I remember was Jasper's honey-toned voice.

"Carlisle! I don't know what happened, I think. . ." and then it went black.

JPOV

Ali . . . my sweet Ali, how could she do this to me? I loved her with everything I had and she turned around and threw it back in my face. How could she?

"How could you?" Bella repeated the words I had been thinking moments before, her face suddenly changing from anger to hurt. She looked so vulnerable with her tear stained face. Edward gaped after her as she ran from the house and I could hear the truck door slamming. I started towards him.

"I'd like to know that myself. . ." Emmett was on my other side, and his emotions were ranging from anger, protectiveness and hate, to anticipation and vengeful telling me he was looking forward to this. A black streak came down the staircase and almost screamed at us.

"Oh my god, someone has to go help Bella! Now!" I ran out the door and heard Emmett say "Where do you think you're going? Do you think I'm gonna let you see her after what you did?" Edward had obviously made a move to follow me, because Alice had been smart enough to realise that she was not on Bella's list of favourite people by telling us instead of going to her herself. Bella was sitting in her truck cab, her betrayal and hurt slamming into me even from the porch. I approached her truck quickly but decided to tap on the window so I didn't give her a fright. Her breathing was quick and shallow as she ignored me and I think she was hyperventilating. She swayed in her seat and I yanked the door open in time to catch her as she fell forward towards the dash. Her eyes were half closed and her emotions were subdued. She was slipping out of consciousness. I did the only thing I could.

"Carlisle!" he streaked out of the front door followed by Esme and Rose. Edward very nearly had made it out of the door before Emmett clamped down on him and pinned him to the ground.

"Let me see my fiancé!" I heard him roaring at Emmett as he tried to bite his way free. Rose's eyes flared with anger and she rushed over to aid her husband. She leaned over him and fixed him with a piercing glare.

"Don't you dare! We all saw her throw that ring back at you and my god, you deserved it! She is not your fiancé anymore, Fuckward!" she whispered in a deadly tone. He growled viciously at her.

"Of course she is! She still loves me! She's still my Bella!" Rosalie snapped his jaw shut with a painful crack and he growled. I looked at him until he met my eye.

_You hurt her. Pain is built to last and it changes people, trust me because I know what I'm talking about. You just supplied her with a lifetime of the stuff so no, she probably won't be your Bella anymore. Well done. You just alienated the only person who truly loved you. _He closed his eyes and sighed before trying to fight free of Emmett again.

"I don't know what happened, I think it was lack of oxygen," I told Carlisle as he examined Bella. He nodded and scooped her up.

"I'm going to take her to the spare bedroom. It would look suspicious if we took her back to Charlie's house, he would probably start an investigation or something." I followed him in the front door, aiming a swift kick at that douche bag as we passed. He grunted and clutched his stomach.

That was only a small amount of the payback you're about to receive, manwhore. He glared at me. Whatever, asshole.

"As soon as Bella gives me the word, you are going to pay," Emmett snarled at him. I was glad that at least my family were on my side in this. Alice was still sitting in the couch with Esme who would not look her in the eye. Alice was very upset and I could feel the sadness and pain, but no remorse. It only made me even more adamant in not taking her back if and when she asked. I walked right past her, not even sparing her a second glance. Her sorrow intensified as she stared after me.

Bella was lying in the middle of a queen-sized white bed in the spare room. Carlisle was by her side, checking her pulse and monitoring her breathing. I could feel the cloud of worry being pushed back and a forced calm coming over his façade as he went into doctor mode. Anger was still bubbling under the cool; I had always been in awe of Carlisle's ability to calm himself and go into every situation with a cool head. This time, for the first time, I felt the struggle. This was the angriest I had ever seen him. Angrier than when Emmett painted his Mercedes dark purple and put gold grilles and dollar signs on the licence plate with the words 'Gangsta Rap' on his rear window and he had to drive it to work. Angrier than the time we started a prank war and the focus of it all ended up being him and Esme. Angrier, even, than when Rose and Emmett did it on his desk in the study. He turned to me and spoke through tight lips.

"We need to figure out what we're going to do about this. Esme dear, would you please come up here?" She was by my side in a flash and radiating pure worry.

"Alright, Esme, what do you think?" She took a deep breath and sighed.

"I love them both, but I also love Jasper and Bella. They are all my children and no matter the conflict they always will be. I think that Alice and Edward should leave the house for the time being, at least until we decide what we're going to do about it." Carlisle nodded and stood up, motioning for me to follow him as he exited the room.

"Alice?" he stopped in front of her and she stood with her head hung low.

"I know. If you think it's for the best. Edward may be a bit more difficult though," she motioned towards the doorway where Edward was visibly writhing underneath Emmett's massive form and trying to escape.

"Rose, let him talk," She stood up and released his jaw. Emmett put him into a headlock and pulled him to his feet so we could talk to him face-to-face.

"Edward, we have to ask you and Alice to leave the house for the time being. This is not a request, you will either leave of your own free will or by force. Your choice." Edward glared at me.

"You choose him over me? I was your first son! He has slipped up more than any of us here and killed too many to count, and yet you think him more worthy of this family?" Carlisle snarled, but I knew he was right. Edward knew it too.

"That is not true Edward! What you have done is far worse than anything Jasper has ever done! The life he was brought into was not his own doing and you know that as well as I! He chose to leave that life behind as soon as he heard of another option! Yes, you were my first son but that does not change the fact that you have hurt everyone in this family with your callous actions. Jasper and Bella loved you both unconditionally and you went behind their backs, their love unimportant to you. Our coven may be based on our diet, but we love each other as a normal family would. You hurt one, you hurt us all. Jasper and Bella have never done either, so no, I do not find anyone more worthy than the other, I only see those who need us more at this moment in time and who deserve our help. Do not try and turn this around Edward, because I am telling you now it will not work. You are not innocent in this. Neither of you are." Carlisle was furious and Edward looked at his feet.

"I will collect some of my things and leave. Please, just tell me if Bella will be alright?" he was anxious now and he searched our faces and minds.

"She will be fine. Now please, avoid any more trouble and leave." He nodded and I went up to Bella's room until he was gone. That wife stealing bastard wouldn't be seeing her again for a long, long time. I heard Alice in our room just after Edward left in the Volvo packing her own things. I heard a soft tap on the door and Alice put her head around the door.

"Jazzy, can I speak to you please?" I grudgingly stood up and followed her into our room.

"Jazzy, I know you'll never believe me if I say I'm sorry, so I wont. Look, nothing happened. Please, trust me. How could you think I would ever do that to you? I love you!" I shook my head angrily. I could feel no sincerity coming from her. Did she really think I was that stupid and gullible?

"Alice, please do not insult my intelligence. What happened then? Edward forced you? He was too strong for you? You're a goddamn vampire! You could have thrown him across the room if you didn't want it to happen. Besides, did you forget my power? I can tell when you're lying." Her eyes grew wide. "Are you really that cruel that you would place all of the blame on Edward and you get away with it? If Edward's going down, you're going down with him. Whatever love I felt for you was destroyed today. You are nothing to me now and I am no longer your puppet." And I turned and walked out of the room to see Rose and Emmett glaring fiercely at Alice.

"Homewrecker," Rosalie hissed viciously at her, but I couldn't help but agree. I felt no sympathy for my wife.

"Expect divorce papers," I said to her as she walked past. Alice hung her head and left. I heard the Porsche roar to life and speed off down the drive. The Porsche. A gift from Edward. I should have known what was going on after all of this time. All the signs were there. The gifts, time alone together when they would go for a 'hunt' or stay behind while we went. They were always close but we all thought it was as in favourite brother and sister relationship wise. The spark had been leaving our kisses recently and I could no longer feel the same amount of love from her as before. I must admit, my own love for her had recently subsided, and now altogether disappeared.

"Jazz man, we've decided we're going to go to Dartmouth for a while. You up for it? Bella has to come too, now that she's graduated!" He clapped my shoulder and I considered it. It would be nice to be able to get away from all the madness and stress, in other words: Alice and Edward. Bella obviously didn't want to see Edward and had just lost her best friend, and Rose seemed to be acting much friendlier towards her. It would be good for both of us, so I agreed to ask Bella. If she wouldn't go, neither would I. I refused to leave her here on her own while Edward still wanted her back and Bella had a knack for being unable to say no. I could hear her stirring and walked into her room closely followed by Rose and Em. Carlisle and Esme were sitting at her bedside already and I stood near the door. Em and Rose stood at the foot of the bed. I wanted to see her, but if she saw me first then she would most likely remember more quickly what had happened and it could be a lot worse. I watched as her eyelids flickered and she opened them slowly. Her eyes grew wide as she took in everyone.

"Bella, how are you? Do you feel alright?" Esme's anxious voice brought Bella's wandering eyes to my mother.

"Fine. Please tell me it didn't happen. It was all a dream, right?" she whispered and she sounded so broken in that moment. No one said anything and she interpreted it correctly as a tear slid down her cheek. Her eyes were downcast and I could feel the deep sadness radiating from her.

"Oh." She struggled to get up, but I could feel the nausea and could tell that she still wasn't quite right. I walked to her side and pushed her back down by the shoulder.

"Bella, I can fell your nausea. You are obviously not ready to get up yet. Stay there for a minute." She nodded and her eyes teared up.

"Oh, Jasper, I'm so sorry," I gave her a smile that even felt weak and I knew she could see it was forced.

"It's not your fault so don't apologize, please." Everyone left to give us some nonexistent privacy in a house full of vampires with super-hearing. She stood up, ignoring my protests and threw her arms around my neck. I returned the hug gently and gave her a light squeeze. Suddenly, she jumped back.

"OH! I'm sorry! Was that hard for you?" She was referring to the bloodlust and I was extremely and pleasantly surprised to find that the burn was just an itch compared to normal. I realised that it only flared up because I was thinking of it.

"Actually, no!" My voice even sounded thoughtful to myself.

"No? Not even a little bit?" I shook my head and grinned.

"Well it just means I can be nearer to you now," I held out my arms for a hug and she jumped towards me.

"I'm glad. Now we can get to know each other better without having to be careful so much," She sat back and sadness clouded her emotions.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She looked up and gave me a strained smile.

"I was just thinking of how Edward used to warn me to stay away from you all the time when I knew it wouldn't be as terrible as he thought, getting to know you as a brother. He was always so strict and restraining. I never had any of my own choices because he made them all for me. Even Alice," she looked down at her twisting and untwisting hands. "She never gave me an option. She always told me what I was doing and never thought to ask what I wanted." Anger took over.

"You know, it was never much better with me and Alice. She was always in my ear making me think I would kill you if you came near me. I never had any say in the matter. Edward and Alice were always between us becoming friends and I never fully understood why. I can only guess now." I had a pretty good guess. If Bella and I had become close, we may have noticed how distant Alice and Edward were being with us and realised something. They denied us our friendship to save their own worthless hides and that pissed me off. I heard Rose mutter to Emmett about when I was going to stop hogging Bella and let her apologize. I made me happy to find that my sister wanted to finally accept Bella into the family.

"I think Rose wants to speak with you when you're ready. Don't look so frightened," I chuckled at the look of shock and trepidation on her face. "I'll let her explain." She nodded her head.

"Alright," Rose appeared at the door and smiled warmly at Bella. Though she her face didn't register it, Bella was feeling pure alarm. I chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, she wont bite," Bella stuck her tongue out at me like a five year old and I passed Rose on my way out. "Don't upset her, okay?" I said too fast for Bella to hear. Rose nodded and sat on the end of the bed. I walked out and closed the door. Not wanting to be caught waiting outside her door for fear of it looking like I was impatient or eavesdropping, I decided to read in my study. I sat down in a comfortable armchair and picked up a large tome about the civil war. I found the page I had marked and tried to concentrate on the book in my hand but my eyes kept sliding in and out of focus as I picked up slivers of conversation from upstairs.

" . . .and myself knew what an uneven relationship it was. That is why we were so opposed to joining our family in the first place. I knew that he would only try and control everything you did. Of course, Emmett being Emmett found you hilarious and automatically adopted you as a little sister as soon as he met you." I chuckled quietly to myself; Emmett found Bella' human traits the funniest thing in the world and would laugh every time she fell over.

"Can you ever forgive me? I was such a stone cold bitch to you and you must hate me." I heard Bell laugh shakily – she must be crying.

"Of course I don't! If anything, I want nothing more than to be your friend and sister! There was nothing to forgive, anyway. You were trying to protect me by scaring me off, how could I hate you for something like that? You tried to protect me without even knowing me and for that I'm thankful." I could hear the both of them dry sobbing and sheets rustling as no doubt Bella threw herself at Rose or the other way around. "I'm beginning to wish I had taken your advice though." She sighed.

"Have you decided if you want to come with us yet?" Damn, I knew there was something I forgot to do!

"Go where?" she sounded confused.

"Didn't Jasper ask you? We're going to Dartmouth and you're coming with us if you want!" Excitement flooded me.

"Really? You mean it? Of course! I would love to go!" I almost crashed into Emmett on my way into the hall and we raced each other up to the spare room. Emmett picked Bella up and swung her around while she giggled.

"Woo! My little human is coming with us! It would have been so boring without you, Belly-Boo!" he told her, squeezing her to his chest. I balked and ran forward to free her as her eyes bulged and she turned blue. I pulled at his arms as hard as I could without hurting Bella.

"Humans need to breathe Emmett!" I yelled and he loosened his grip immediately. He adopted a sheepish expression and laughed nervously.

"Sorry Bella." She coughed a couple times and smiled at him.

"No problem, I'm excited too." We're going to college! I flooded the room with my emotions and Emmett pulled the three of us into a group hug. He cheered and Bella laughed at him. Rose was looking at me with one eyebrow arched and I smiled. She cracked and grinned at us, joining in with Emmett and cheering loudly. He put Rose on his shoulders like a trophy and bowed.

"High Honours here I come!" He yelled and I shook my head and calmed him down. He still didn't put Rose down but sat on the end of the bed grinning. I probably looked like fool with a smile that split my face.

"When can we go?" We all turned to look at Bella and she turned red. "I mean, it would be nice to get away from all of this madness as soon as possible." I nodded, silently thanking god she was the one to bring it up. I was personally ready to go now but I didn't want to rush Bella to leave her home. All my stuff was already at my house in New Hampshire.

"I can be ready in half an hour, why don't you use that time to tell Charlie and go pack a bag? We can buy more stuff for you when we get there." Rose suggested and Bella's face lit up. It fell again.

"Charlie. What will I say?" I had an idea.

"Why don't I come with you and keep him calm. He will be easier to persuade if he has a cooler head about him." She smiled and nodded.

"Yes please, if you think it will help," She stood up and slipped her shoes on. Rose grabbed Emmett and went to pack and I walked with Bella down to my Saab. Her eyes widened.

"Stupid rich vampires," she muttered under her breath and I grinned. I opened her door for her and a light pink tinged her cheeks.

"Thank you," She climbed in and I flitted around to my side. The engine was purring before she could fasten her seatbelt. I reversed out from between Emmett's truck and Edward's Vanquish. I had a sudden urge to scrape it in some form but decided against it; I would get it later on in a more effective form of destruction. Bella flipped the stereo on and the CD that was in began playing. I tapped my fingers against the wheel along to the music and Bella began humming along. My eyes widened as she began singing.

"Welcome to the hotel California,

What a lovely place,

Living it up at the hotel California

Any time of year,

You can find it here."

I joined in and laughed when her face reddened and she realised she had been singing.

"The Eagles, huh? I never would have pegged you as a Rock and Roll chick," she laughed.

"Yeah, I love them. My dad got me into them. Actually, most of the music I like is because of my dad. Foo Fighters, Nirvana, nothing too heavy though. Classic rock. I also love Paramore, We The Kings, Fall Out Boy, You Me At Six, All Time Low, the list goes on and on. Coldplay, Radiohead, Muse. . ." I smiled with her.

"That is exactly my kind of music. I think you and I will find we have much in common," she grinned and I realised that it was so easy to take her mind off recent events.

I cut the engine outside of Chief Swan's house. I could feel Bella's anxiety and nerves and placed a soothing calm over her. She took a deep breath and stepped out the car. I followed suit and walked with her to the door.

She opened the door and called out to her father.

"Dad? Can I speak to you please?" He stepped out into the hall and looked concerned.

"What is it Bells?" His eyes fell on me and he looked startled.

"Eh, who's this?" I stepped forwards and offered my hand. He took it and tried not to flinch at the cool of my skin.

"I'm Jasper Hale, sir. Nice to meet you," he nodded.

"Good to meet you too son. Are you one of Carlisle's kids?" I nodded and he smiled warmly.

"When's Alice coming around to visit? I've not seen her in a while," I tried not to but I flinched slightly. Enough for Charlie to notice anyway. Bella slid her hand behind her back so that her father wouldn't notice and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently. I squeezed hers lightly to tell her I was alright.

"Something wrong, Jasper?" I shook my head and sent him a wave of indifference.

"Not at all sir." He let it drop and turned back to Bella.

"What did you need to talk about Bells?" I sent a boost of confidence through our joined hands into her and she smiled.

"I've decided to go to college. I was accepted into Dartmouth and we have decided to leave today. Dad?" Charlie started turning blue. Bella turned to me with frantic eyes and I sent out wave after wave of calm until he turned a healthy looking colour.

"What?" He spluttered.

"Look, dad you said you wanted me to go to college so now I am." He suddenly turned hostile.

"Is Edward going with you?" I felt a twinge of pain and it flitted across her face.

"No, he is not. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper are going. We are leaving in about an hour and I came to say goodbye." He didn't let it slide.

"Bella." She looked down and avoided his gaze. His expression softened and he leaned forward to pull her chin up.

"Bella," he said again "why isn't Edward going with you? What happened?" How the hell was she going to be able to explain this?

**Review please peeps, you know the drill. If I get ten reviews I will update. I love to know what you guys think and reviews are like crack to a writer. ;)**

**Let me know if you think I should put in some Emmett taking revenge, cause that'll be fun to write :D**

**x~Hannah~x**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Next chapter! Look at all you lucky people who are getting two whole new chapters after such a long wait! Well, without further ado, the next chapter to Trust Doesn't Come So Easy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Jasper is mine though. Haha just kidding, if only . . . *sigh***

_Previously:_

"_Bella." She looked down and avoided his gaze. His expression softened and he leaned forward to pull her chin up._

"_Bella," he said again "why isn't Edward going with you? What happened?" How the hell was she going to be able to explain this? _

JPOV

She stuttered. I was getting suspicion, worry and anger from Charlie as his brow furrowed over his dark eyes. Bella wasn't dealing with this, either she couldn't say it or she couldn't think of a story. I decided quickly that I would take into my own hands and Bella could correct the lie later if she wished to.

"Chief Swan, Bella is stressed because Edward has been accepted into the very prestigious University of the Creative Arts in England. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and Bella has decided to sacrifice her own happiness to let him go. He left yesterday morning for the airport." Charlie's eyes grew soft when he turned them on Bella who was staring at me. I quickly checked her and all I felt was relief and thankfulness. Thank god she didn't have a problem with that.

"Bella? Is that true? You made yourself unhappy so that everyone else was happy?" She turned her bewildered gaze to her father and nodded sheepishly.

"Wouldn't be the first time," she muttered under her breath. I bit back a chuckle. Charlie moved forward and embraced his daughter awkwardly; I could tell he wasn't big on expressive love. She patted his back and he looked troubled.

"I know that I haven't been supportive of you and Edward since . . . well, since a while now, but I can see that he makes you happy. Is it really the right decision to let him go like this?" Bella stiffened. Anger and sorrow were bubbling up and I quickly squeezed her hand gently as a reminder. It wouldn't turn out well if she blew her top and I didn't have to be Alice to see that.

"It makes him happy, obviously, to leave me for this school. I understand that it is a very beautiful country, but he made the choice easily. He wasted no time in making his decision and now he is leaving." Charlie still looked doubtful and he cast a glance in my direction. I kept my face as smooth and calm as possible and she took a deep breath.

"I'm going to miss you, kiddo," he sighed. She nodded and tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'll miss you too dad, but this is something I really want to do. I'll call you when we get there," he nodded and she went upstairs to pack.

"Would you like to wait in the living room Jasper?" I nodded and smiled reassuringly at him before taking a seat on the couch. He sat in the only armchair and surveyed me closely.

"So, what's the story with Edward really?" My head almost shot up in surprise, but I was an accomplished liar and wouldn't give myself away quite so easily.

"That was the real story, sir. Bella is very upset about it. Between you and me, I doubt their relationship will last over the three years he will spend abroad. I know from experience that seldom do long distance relationships last." At least, I thought, I should give him some sort of forewarning for when Bella eventually broke the news that they were separated. His eyes were wide but he was a little pleased. Damn, he really doesn't like Edward. That thought cheered me a little to know that Charlie wouldn't try to interfere and force Bella back to him when he found out.

"Three years? Won't he be coming back for break?" I shook my head.

"No, the breaks are very short but frequent. Apparently, it increases how much the students take in and retain, rather than forget it all over spring break or half term." He nodded slowly but the doubt only wore away enough for him to not push it. Bella appeared in the door slightly out of breath and cheeks flushed; she must have rushed packing. She gave me a breath-taking smile and hugged Charlie.

"Bye Dad, see you next break," He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Love you Bells," her eyes watered again.

"I love you too Dad," she hugged him again and pulled me to my feet and to the front door.

"Eager to escape?" I muttered low enough for her but not Charlie to hear. She rolled her eyes for my benefit and walked to the car. Charlie watched from the front door as she waved and I drove away. She kept waving until we turned the corner. She turned around and looked down at her hands. I reached over and smoothed out her lip, freeing it from her teeth.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" She glanced up and smiled.

"Thank you," I smiled back.

"You're welcome, but what for?" She was biting her lip again.

"This is going to sound stupid, but thank you for lying to Charlie. It is so much easier to explain than the truth, seeing as Edward and Alice are supposed to be brother and sister. But . . . it would have been too hard to speak about it to him. He wouldn't understand. I don't want his sympathy, but that's all he would be able to give me." She was annoyed. Ah, always the silent martyr.

"How about empathy?" She smiled at the bad joke.

"Yeah, that would be better." I didn't want to push her, so I just gave her options.

"Whenever you want to talk about it, I'm here for you. I am known for being a very good listener," I smiled in her direction but didn't let my eyes wander from the road; I knew it scared her. She noticed the gesture and was silently thankful.

"Not right now, but the same to you. If you ever need to talk. . ." I nodded slowly.

"How about we agree to talk when we are both ready?" She shook her head in agreement and pulled up in the garage to see a very impatient looking Rose with three suitcases. Her face brightened when she saw Bella was with me; she must have feared that Charlie would not allow her to go. Rose rushed forward and snatched Bella out of the car, much to Bella's shock and embarrassment.

"Did you get everything you want to bring?" Bella nodded and Rose turned to look over her shoulder.

"EMMETT! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE SO WE CAN GO!" she turned back to us and rolled her eyes. "He's packing all of his games and consoles," she explained wearily. Bella laughed loudly when she saw Emmett appear in the doorway carrying five suitcases and a backpack.

"Emmett, what . . .?" He grinned and patted a suitcase at his feet.

"My Xbox, Wii, PS3, GameCube, Dreamcast, PSP, Nintendo DS and every game I own to go with them," he stated proudly. Bella looked at me helplessly but all I could do was shake my head. Emmett was Emmett.

"A Dreamcast? Really? That thing's about twenty years old!" she laughed again.

"Hey! Don't. Dis. The Dreamcast. This thing is a legend." Emmett turned his nose up in the air and proceeded to load his Wrangler with the suitcases. I wasn't at all surprised that he had taken more cases than his wife simply because she would be shopping for EVERYTHING when she got there. Unfortunately for Bella, Rose was most likely going to be dragging her along on those frequent trips to the mall. Bella excitedly hopped into the back seat while Rose got up front and Emmett was driving. Bella had no idea. I climbed in the other side and smiled at her. She was radiating pure love and happiness, as well as anticipation and excitement. I spread her emotions through the car; they were just so positive and pure that I couldn't resist. Emmett sat up straight and almost started vibrating. Rose perked up instantly and a face-splitting grin appeared on her face. Emmett let out a huge hoot and reversed out of the garage fast enough to throw us all forward in our seats a little. Bella giggled and readjusted herself into a more comfortable position. I looked over her shoulder out the window and stiffened. A low growl slid past my teeth and I glared at him. What the fuck did he think he was doing?

BPOV

Emmett let out a huge hoot and reversed out of the garage. I was thrown forward in my seat almost onto the floor and I giggled at his enthusiasm. I was almost positive that Jasper had something to do with his sudden good mood when I noticed him smirking at me. I curled my feet under myself and rested my head against the cool window, facing Jasper. His eyes slid past me and he stiffened immediately. The atmosphere became hostile and furious and his eyes turned jet black, as if someone had just shot black ink straight into his irises. He was glaring past me and I turned to see him. I froze.

No, not here, not now! He couldn't ruin this moment for me!

Edward stood in the tree-line. He was half concealed by a large fern but his stance was clear. Anger. Hostility. His lips pulled back over his teeth as he most likely read everyone in the car's mind and realised our destination. Jasper's low snarl filled the car, breaking the silence and reminding me that they were there. Emmett must have realised too because he jumped a little and put his foot down to the floor on the gas. We shot off down the winding driveway and, even though we had left Edward behind at the house, a menacing snarl continued to rip through his chest. It was a sound of absolute fury.

"Jasper?" I asked quietly. His eyes shifted to me but he did not stop.

"Damn it Whitlock! Stop fucking growling at me and man up!" He looked at me in shock and the noise stopped abruptly. Rose and Emmett wore matching expressions and I realised they hadn't heard me speak like that before. I shrugged it off. I was pissed off.

"Growl all you want, it will not change anything! What? Will growling put us back in time? Will being angry at them make it like it never happened? No. I can't deny that I am furious and hurt that they did this to us, but I acknowledge the fact that it is done. It has already happened and no matter how much I want to, I will never be with him like that again. I may forgive him in the distant future enough to be siblings perhaps or maybe just acquaintances, but I will NEVER love him like that. All we can do is be the bigger and better person in all of this. Maybe we can't forget about it, but we can try our damned hardest!" Angry tears were spilling over my eyes and Jasper reached forward to pull me into his chest. I collapsed, exhausted from my little rant and relaxed further into Jasper's cold body as he rubbed small circled into my back.

"I'm sorry, but he just pisses me off Bells. I swear to god I almost ripped him apart, not because of Alice, but because of what he did to you. I have never felt such pain in my existence." He calmed me down a little so that the tears would stop but not enough to fuck with my emotions that they were all Jasper's influence. I shot him a grateful smile as I pulled back and noticed that his eyes were now the familiar caramel colour instead of the onyx and a small smile played across his lips.

"Christ . . . who knew shy little Bella Swan would speak to anyone like that?" I smirked.

"Not you, anyway. Just because I was shy in Forks doesn't mean I was so defenceless in Phoenix," I laughed at their expressions.

"Awesome! Bella is badass!" Emmett boomed. Rose nodded in agreement and turned to let me see her thoroughly impressed face. She then smirked mockingly at Jasper.

"Jazz, you are so whipped," Emmett let out a booming laugh.

"Meow! Fit-ch!" He glowered at Emmett and pouted. That only made me laugh harder.

"Bella . . . why are you laughing at me?" he turned his eyes on me and they were devastating. There was so much depth and sadness in them I had to wonder if it was for real.

"Um, what?" I asked. I was a little disoriented when he stared at me like that. Wait, what? Did he just dazzle me? Jasper? Huh. I didn't know that was even possible, I thought that only Edward used to have that effect on me.

"Bella? Bella?" A hand waved in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze.

"Dude, I think you just dazzled her," Emmett was busting a gut laughing at us. Jasper glared at him and leaned forward to place a finger on his shoulder.

Emmett suddenly became inconsolable.

He slumped over the steering wheel and heaved huge dry sobs, resting his head on one massive forearm. The noises he was making were some of the funniest things I have ever heard. They were halfway between a sob and a snort. Suddenly, he swerved sharply off the road and into the undergrowth.

I let out a terrified shriek, not able to close my eyes that were open wide in panic. Jasper pulled back his finger quickly and Emmett sat up, expertly manoeuvred back onto the road before he hit a tree. A pair of cool hands covered mine, gently prying them from the seat that I was clutching for dear life. Jasper looked into my eyes anxiously, sending me wave after wave of calm. I could feel them, but I couldn't absorb them no matter how much I wanted to. I was far too alert and tense to accept them. Jasper's own eyes were wide. It must have been my own emotions affecting him.

"Bella, please calm down. It's alright, we didn't crash. Look, we're all here, it's fine. I'm so sorry, that was a stupid thing to do, especially while you were here . . ." I noticed Emmett was continually being hit over the head by Rosalie who was furious.

"You idiot! Bella could have died if we crashed! She's not a vampire, dumbass!" she hissed.

"Rose, it's fine. I'm fine," I reassured Jasper. He nodded stiffly, anxiousness still etched in his face. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Jazz, I'm fine. Don't worry, just don't make him so incapable of driving next time." He grinned at the fact that I had given him the clear to continue to annoy Emmett.

"Stupid asshole, almost made me crash the car and got me hit from Rose . . . yeah, you know it was your fault, don't even try to deny it . . ." I laughed at Emmett's disgruntled muttering.

"Aw, Emmy-Bear, did big bad Rosalie hurt you? Do want me to kiss the booboo?" He turned around and smirked at me.

"Well, my lips do kind of hurt," he puckered them and Rose smacked him across the back of the head again, causing him to go face first into the headrest on his seat. Jasper growled at him quietly and I turned to look at him in confusion.

"Ow! Rosie, what was that for?" He pouted at her. The face was obviously supposed to be cute, but it didn't really work due to his oversized bulging muscles and overall frightening appearance that clashed too much with the puppy dog eyes.

"Emmett, shut up. You know exactly what it was for. You can't go around asking girls for kisses, especially," she growled. "When your wife is in the car." He had the decency to look sheepish.

"Jasper, what the hell are you growling at?" she asked him irritably. He looked confused, as if he had only just realised he was doing it. I looked at him curiously and he dropped his gaze to his feet, not meeting my eye. Emmett and Rose stared at him, Rose with a knowing smile and Emmett total confusion.

"Eyes on the road Em," He said softly. It seemed to break whatever staring contest we were all in. Emmett guffawed loudly and Rose smiled at him lovingly.

"Good one, Jazz! We're indestructible!" Jasper sighed impatiently.

"Yes, but _Bella's_ not. She wouldn't walk away from a crash," he reminded him. I cringed at the word 'crash' and worked on fastening the safety harness. My reaction did not go unnoticed; the jeep burst into laughter and I turned beet red.

"Belly-Boo! Do you not trust me?" I shot him a coy smile.

"Of course Emmy-Bear, your driving on the other hand . . . let's just say I'm too young to die." He glowered.

"I'm not that bad. I'm one of the best drivers you'll ever meet due to my excellent reflexes," he grumbled.

"Really? Do we need to rewind five minutes?" He grumbled incoherently again and I sat back in my chair with a smug smile. "Exactly." I looked over Emmett's massive shoulder and balked. 130 miles per hour. Jasper must have sensed my terror because he nudged Emmett's shoulder.

"Em, slow down. You know Bella hates speed." Emmett grumbled something about "screw Bella" but I saw the speedometer needle edging down towards one hundred. I sent him a wave of gratefulness and relief and he caught my eye. He tipped an imaginary hat and elicited a not-so-delicate sounding snort from me. My hand flew up to cover my mouth and nose but it was too late. Rose had already turned around to look at me as if I had three heads.

"Did you just . . . snort?" My other hand automatically came up to point at Jasper whose face turned into an instant poker face.

"He made me!" He rolled his eyes at my immatureness. I was aware I was acting like a kid who had just been caught stealing cookies, but I didn't care in the slightest.

"Thanks for ratting me out, tattle-tale," he crossed his arms and I stuck my tongue out at him. He did the same and I turned my head away from him.

"What the hell are you guys doing? You are over a century old and your acting like a kindergartener," Emmett snickered and Jasper flicked him on the forehead.

"Shut up Em, you're the one with six cases of games and no clothes," his eyes widened.

"Shit! I knew there was something I forgot!" I burst out laughing and Rosalie put a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry," she said in a soothing voice. "I packed a weeks worth for you and we'll buy more later, isn't that right Bella?" that shut me up. Stupid shopping. Obviously, Jasper couldn't hold back the laughter or the amusement because the next thing I knew the four of us were laughing our asses off. Emmett almost drove off the road again before Jasper could get a handle on himself.

"Stupid empath . . can't control his fucking emotions . . . almost crashed my car _again_ . ." Emmett's grumbling trailed off into incoherent mumbles and empty threats. Rose settled for rolling her amber eyes at her very put out husband as Jasper and I tried to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst out. Without warning, Emmett relaxed back into his seat. Once more, Jasper had leaned forward in his seat to place one long thin finger on Emmett's broad shoulders. In what I'm sure was supposed to be a very disgruntled voice, his grunt of annoyance came out as a sigh.

"Damn emotional voodoo. Stop messing with my head you fuck-" he was cut off by a crack as Rose's fist connected with his head. Again. We watched as Emmett's face cycled through many different expressions and Jasper influenced them from the back seat.

When we finally arrived in New Hampshire, it was nightfall. Emmett had managed to squeeze a three day journey into two. Apparently it would have been less if he hadn't had to go so 'slow'. We pulled up to a secluded meadow about ten minutes from campus.

I was blown away.

It was a beautiful three story log cabin with a wrap around porch and bay windows on the bottom floor. It was a deep mahogany colour and was surrounded by pine trees. Jasper gave me a quick tour seeing as it was his house, showing me to the guest bedroom.

"Esme will be decorating your room, but until she gets here you will have to stay here. Don't look so shocked Bella," he pushed my chin up gently to close my mouth. "You're family. I hope this is alright for the time being though," he opened the door onto a beautiful room. It had sand coloured rugs over the hardwood floor and a light blue ceiling. The walls were the same colour except the one that the headboard of a queen sized bed lay against. That one was painted like a beautiful sunset. Oranges, pinks, yellows and golds melted together to create a realistic looking tropical sunset.

"This is lovely. Did you do this?" I turned to stare at him when he nodded sheepishly.

"I love painting. I find it very relaxing, almost as much as reading. My library is one of the few places I have where other's emotions can't disturb me." My eyes bulged.

"You have a library? NO WAY!" He laughed and set my bags down. Next thing I knew we were inside a huge round room. The dark wood bookshelves were set into the wall, and there were several comfortable looking squashy armchairs in the middle of the room facing a huge ornate fireplace. The windows ran in strips either side of the fireplace opposite the door from the floor to the roof. I looked on in awe.

"This is amazing," I whispered. For some reason, I felt the need to be quiet in this peaceful environment.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" I nodded mutely and walked forward to one of the armchairs. I sank down into it looking around. Now that I was away from the door, I could see the golden ladder on a rail. The roof was in a dome shape and I was reminded of the Vatican in Rome. The design was beautiful. It was cherubs and angels surrounding a flower garden. I pointed to the ceiling in a silent question and Jasper nodded again.

"Yeah, that one took a while. It's one of my favourites," He smiled nervously, as if he was waiting for my judgement.

"Jasper, you are very talented. Where did you learn to paint like that?" He chuckled lightly. His face smoothed out.

"When you're a vampire, you have a lot of time to perfect skills." Of course, just like how Carlisle had read almost every medical diary in history, Edward had become a musical prodigy, Alice had become the most organised person I know, Esme was an amazing architect, Emmett had beat every game in existence and Rose was a fashion icon. They had all had time to practice and practice until it was second nature to them. Something occurred to me.

"Why have I never seen any of this in Forks?" He looked embarrassed.

"Actually, you have. Esme puts a lot of my paintings on the walls. Alice didn't like them though, so I kept most of them here." Anger flared and my vision was tinged red.

"Did Alice make you do anything else?" I asked through tight lips. He noticed because his whole mood became wary.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. Alice didn't like a lot of things about me that I changed, but that doesn't matter anymore because she has no influence on me anymore." He said firmly. My eyes grew soft.

"If you say so Jazz, but the question is do you want to change back, or do you like it better like this?" He pondered my question for a moment before sighing.

"Yes, there are many things I would like to change back, things that I have missed for over half a century." I became more animated. If there was anything in the world that I wanted most it was Jasper to be his own person and not Alice's Jasper. I wondered briefly where these feelings were coming from. Perhaps it was simply residual emotions of over-protectiveness due to the pain Alice has inflicted on him. I was willing to bet that no matter how happy he appeared, he was hurting and just as vulnerable as I was on the inside.

"Like what? Please Jasper, I want you to be able to feel comfortable around me, and if bringing up old habits is the key then I would gladly like to know what they were," He nodded slowly.

"Well . . . Alice didn't like my accent. I had to cover it up when I met her. I took me about two years to hide it." Of course, I had heard it slip through occasionally when his guard was down. It seemed to shine through a lot more when he was stressed or upset. Because of that fact, I had been hearing it much more frequently than normal and I loved it. "And she didn't like my boots. My papa's cowboy boots. I loved them more than anything because he gave me them before I went to join the war. She made me throw them out," He whispered, his eyes tortured.

"Did these boots mean a lot to you?" He sighed again.

"Yes. They were my most prized possession, but I loved Alice enough to get rid of them if it made her happy." This was not good. He had changed who he was for that little two faced slut only to have his love and every act of faith thrown back at him without so much as a hint of remorse. It made me physically sick to think about it. She was the epitome of evil if she was able to spoil such a kind hearted soul such as Jasper. "And my clothes," He continued, more to himself than me. "Did you really think I was this preppy?" He gestured down at the diamond patterned sweater-vest, creased pants and a white button down shirt underneath. Come to think of it, it did not match his personality whatsoever but I never thought anything of it; everyone in the Cullen family seemed to dress like this. "Alice dressed the whole family, but she was worst with me. I had to replace everything. Anything I owned went. My hats, my jeans, my band t-shirts, my own boots," I shook my head in disgust and reached out to where he had taken a seat beside me. I grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"Jasper, please, do not hide something like that again. If this is who you really are, then I want to know the real you. Not some poster boy Alice created up in her mind and decided was you," He gave me a weak smile.

"I guess so." He jumped up and threw a hasty "Stay." Over his shoulder before he raced out of the room. Not a minute later, he was back. My eyes almost popped out my head. Damn!

"Took me a while to find everything I hid from Alice's purge," He mused. Jasper was standing leaning against the door frame looking like a sex god. His faded blue jeans looked like they were made for him, hugging his muscular legs in all the right ways. He wore an unbuttoned red and grey plaid shirt over a tight black t-shirt, showing off all of his muscles. I had never noticed until then that Jasper was very well built. That's not what drew my attention though, oh no. He was wearing the sexiest cowboy boots known to man. They were brown with a loop pattern on the sides with a matching tan coloured cowboy hat on his head. I realised I was staring and closed my mouth, pulling my eyes reluctantly back up to meet his. He smirked and winked at me causing me to blush ten shades of red.

"Like what you see?" He asked playfully. I knew he knew I was lying, but I still felt the need to roll my eyes.

"Ha, you wish," He only shook his head and sauntered closer, tucking his thumbs into his belt loops. He stopped just in front of me and leaned down so that his face was level with my own. My breathing hitched; he heard.

"Well, well, well. Bella, I never knew," He was trying hard not to laugh but only succeeded in pressing his lips together and wearing a stupid grin across his face.

"Subtle, Jazz. Real smooth." I rolled my eyes again and he chuckled low, sitting down next to me again.

"In all seriousness, do you like?" I pretended to appraise him for a moment, knowing the answer. Yes, I thought he looked much better. On the downside, he looked almost too good and I would have to check my emotions whenever he was around and dressed like that.

"Yes. I think it's more natural looking. I always got the impression you were uncomfortable in your other clothes," He grinned and tipped his hat at me.

"Well thank you very much Miss Swan, you don't look too bad yourself if I may say so," He let his southern drawl creep into his voice and oh. My. God. He arched an eyebrow at me and my face flushed again.

"Still trying to deny it little missy?" My lust spiked again at the accent and I silently berated myself.

"Don't worry darlin', it's a natural reaction. I am, after all, super hot," He stood up and struck a pose.

"Whatever you say, Jazz. Now I think it's time to feed the human." I tried to think back to when we started using these nicknames for each other, but it just seemed so right that we slipped into it easily without even realising. I stood up and followed Jasper to the kitchen. He led me down a flight of stairs and into the shiny chrome covered room. It was totally opposite to the rest of the house, being so modern while everything else looked like it belonged in the past when the lumberjacks used manual axes and the towns were tiny little things. Big city life was more than twenty houses and everyone lived in rural and authentic looking homes like this. Even though it was completely different, somehow it was still tasteful.

"Did Esme design and decorate this house?" I looked to Jasper who looked nervous again.

"Uh, no. It was me." I was shocked.

"YOU design houses? I thought only Esme did that! It's wonderful!" He hid a shy smile by turning to the fridge. Rose had insisted on stopping at the supermarket to stock the house with essentials such as food, toothpaste, bathroom necessities. She had obviously unpacked everything already because Jasper produced an array of ingredients.

"What would you like?" I shrugged.

"Surprise me," He grinned and started preparing the food. When it was cooking in the oven, I could hear my stomach growling embarrassingly loud. Jasper set the Chicken Alfredo in front of me and I thanked him profusely; the only thing I had had to eat

Since we left Forks were a couple of mints. I moaned in appreciation when I tasted the food. My eyes closed involuntarily.

"Good?" I nodded.

"Where did you learn to cook like this? You don't even eat," He chuckled.

"Food Network," Of course. Quickly finishing my food, I sat back in content.

"I'm surprised you didn't lick the plate clean!" Jasper's eyes were wide in shock and I got up with my plate.

"That reminds me," I cleaned off the plate and replaced it in the cupboard.

"Thank you, that was delicious. What do you want to do now?" He shrugged and opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a scream.

"BELLAAAA!" Emmett barrelled into the room and threw me over his shoulder.

"Emmett, what the frick?" I yelled as he dropped me in his room. He jumped up and down, clapping his hands like a little boy and I realised I was on a couch in front of a massive T.V screen. His various gaming consoles were set up around it and I internally groaned.

"Bella, you HAVE to play with me! I haven't spent time with my favourite human in _ages_ because Cowboy down there is always hogging you! Speak of the devil . . ." Emmett flitted over to the door and flicked the lock just before a loud thump sounded on the other side.

". . . !" I heard Jasper groan from outside.

"Emmett! You can't kidnap people like that!" He only grinned like a child.

"Ha, indestructible locks. When you're a vampire, it's nice to have privacy without people bursting into the room all the time. For instance, when Rosie and I-" I held my hand up, not wanting him to complete that sentence.

"Emmett, I am begging you never to tell me what you and Rose do in here or any other place in this house." He pouted and switched the Xbox on.

"Come on! I wanna beat you at Halo!" Jasper banged on the door loudly.

"Emmett, let me in!" I sighed.

"Let him in Em. I'll play with you so don't worry I'm not going to ask him to help me escape," He thought for a moment before walking over to the lock and opening it again. The door flew open to reveal Jasper with his fist raised, about to bang again. A totally bewildered expression crossed his face and I laughed at his confusion. Patting the space next to me for him to sit, I grabbed the Xbox controller and prepared myself for defeat.

~10 minutes later~

"How can I be losing?" Emmett snarled. My face was alight with excitement; I had finally found one video game I was decent at. Jasper couldn't stop laughing at Emmett's shame and annoyance. I was the first girl to beat him at a video game and he was so sure he would win hands down . . .

I threw my controller down on the couch in celebration and jumped up, dancing on the spot.

"I won, I won, I won . . . Emmett, I OWN your ass!" He snarled under his breath and threw his own control down in a huff. It hurtled towards the ground at vampire speed and shattered on impact. He stared at it for a moment before roaring in rage and running out the window. Not five seconds later, we heard the distant crashing of trees being uprooted and ripped in half. We looked at each other for a moment . . . the room was filled with laughter as I bent over double, tears streaming down my face. Jasper wasn't much better – he was rolling around on the floor, obviously caving under his amusement and my own. A throat cleared delicately from the door way and I looked up to see Rose smirking at us.

"What the hell is going on?" We looked at each other again and lapsed back into a fit of laughter. She huffed impatiently and crossed her arms.

"Bella – Emmett – Halo!" Was all Jasper got out before falling to the floor again. Rosalie's eyes fell on the remains of the smashed controller and she sighed.

"I take it Emmett's out in the forest?" It was more like a statement than a question. "I guess I better go and make him feel better," and she quickly followed him out of the window. I shuddered, think of what they were about to do.

"That is nasty. I don't even want to think about what they're doing out there," Jasper shuddered himself, mirroring my thoughts exactly.

"So, apart from beating Emmett's sorry ass at video games, what do you guys do for fun around here?" He shrugged and picked out another controller from a side drawer under the T.V.

"Let's see if you can beat me at Guitar Hero," He grinned and popped in the disk, handing me the drumsticks. He plugged in the guitar and started the game. Apparently I was good at more than just Halo and Jasper was frowning in concentration. I smirked at him and played the sixteenths effortlessly on Everlong by the Foo Fighters. Jasper glared competitively at me and restarted the song with him on both the microphone and the guitar. I raised my eyebrows at him but said nothing, instead twirling the drumsticks between my fingers in a gesture that clearly screamed "Bring it on."

He laughed and began the guitar intro. I kept my attention totally focused on the game, determined to beat Jasper's smug ass. I occasionally added in a trick with the sticks laughing at his surprised expression each time. I was so focused that I didn't even noticed the presence in the room other than myself and Jazz. I spun around to find Rosalie and Emmett watching us with amused and shocked expressions. Jasper, who had still not noticed them, groaned in defeat and denial.

"Nooo! How is that possible? I kill at Guitar Hero!" I couldn't help it; I felt thoroughly satisfied and smug. Never had I beaten anyone at anything other than school tests.

"Dude, you were laughing at me and then Karma came back and bit you right on the ass!" He laughed manically. "You just got owned by a human! And Bella no less!"

"Hey!" I said indignantly. Jasper looked really upset about the fact that I had beat him. Wow, vampires hate being beaten at video games or anything for that matter.

"Don't worry Jazz, it's not your fault I am just absolutely fabulous at drums," I flicked my hair over my shoulder dramatically. Rosalie laughed and pulled me out to the hall and away from the two fuming boys.

JPOV

How in the fuck did she beat me? ME? I play guitar in my spare time! I am the Guitar Hero King! That is so fucked up. This girl beat me at Guitar Hero and Emmett at Halo 2. She must have a super power. It ain't right.

I didn't even notice the two girls were gone until Emmett's whining transformed into scheming. I stared at him as he rubbed his hands together and laughed evilly.

"Beat me at Halo . . . teach her . . . Rosie laughing . . . not fair . . . showed me up in front of my woman . . . must be cheating . . ." He noticed my gaze and quickly straightened up from his hunchback pose.

Jazz, my man," He clapped me on the shoulder. "We have some revenge to deal out." I felt a slow smile cross my face.

"And how exactly do you expect to take revenge on a vampire and a crazy ass human girl? Bella WILL find a way to get you back, you know that right?" He nodded and sobered, but brightened almost instantly.

"She's only human, that doesn't scare me. Frankly, I'm more worried about Rose, but she only revokes bedroom privileges so I'm good as long as it's less than three months." He spoke with an air of confidence that I almost was unable to argue with. Meh, I wasn't going to get caught up in Emmett's crazy payback pranks.


	4. Chapter 4

BPOV

"Ugh, I hate it when Emmett gets all whiny and moaning. Seriously, it's like, get over yourself." Rose scoffed at her husband as she led me away from the games room. Emmett had scowled at everything in sight, muttering under his breath, while Jasper just stood there. I couldn't even begin to explain the emotions flitting across his face until it settled at utterly gobsmacked. He stood staring wide eyed at the floor a few feet in front of him with his mouth flapping open like a fish.

"Yeah, well I would pay to see that look on Jazz's face again. That was hilarious," Rose slapped me a dainty high five and closed the door behind us. We were in Rose and Em's room.

"We are going clubbing tonight. No ifs, no buts, you are coming." Her tone was final and her gaze stern. I moaned quietly but nodded. This couldn't be all that bad, right?

Wrong. She brandished the curling iron like a weapon and shoved me gently into a chair in front of a floor length mirror.

"Relax Bella, I'm not going to eat you. Besides, I have a qualification in hairdressing." I shot her a look. "Okay, maybe I dropped out after a week, but I learned loads!" Her tone was insistent, and after a few more grumbles from me, she plugged the iron in to heat up.

She applied some smoky brown and grey eye shadow to my lids and a thin line of black liquid eye liner. The iron beeped three times and she picked it up, combing through my brown hair with her fingertips. She seemed to contemplate it for a moment before sectioning my hair. Once the hot metal was anywhere near my head, I stopped focusing on what she was doing and started on staying still. It would be just my luck to get burned in the face by a piece of hair styling equipment before I went to college.

My chair spun around in a half circle so that I was facing Rose and she shoved an outfit at me before pushing me lightly towards the bathroom. I guess she was pretty excited about this, and it was the brightest I had ever seen her face.

I didn't even spare a glance at what I was pulling over my hair, careful not to wreck it. All I knew was that one item was definitely a skirt. Rose rapped lightly on the door and I opened it to grant her access to the spacious bathroom.

"Wow, Bella you look awesome!" She grinned and handed me a pair of forest green, satin pumps with ribbon detailing around the sides. I grimaced at the height of them but reluctantly pulled them on. They were surprisingly comfortable and easy to stand on, as I discovered when Rosalie helped me up by the elbow.

"Now, tell me what you think. Be as brutally honest as you like and then you can go change into something else if you want. I have plenty of back-up outfits in different styles," I smiled appreciatively at her and walked back over to the mirror.

I didn't recognise the girl in my reflection.

Her shimmering brown waves were straightened and backcombed, and thin curls lay here and there mixed in. Her chocolate coloured eyes were shadowed in a sultry manner with small flicks of eyeliner at the edges. Her cheeks were naturally coloured by a faint pink tinge that created a healthy-looking glow. Her lips were ruby red, but not a slutty colour. They looked plump and kissable. The forest green, satin corset top she was wearing would have been revealing on someone else, but on her it only showed enough to tease. It ended above a black pleated skirt that fell to mid thigh, and covered only the top half of her legs which travelled downwards for miles and eventually ended in those fabulous shoes.

Rosalie appeared in the reflection behind me and studied my expression carefully.

"Do you not like it? I'm sure I have a pair of fitted jeans somewhere that could go well with a halter top, but I don't have any shoes to match-" I whirled around so quickly someone else might have mistaken me for a vampire. My hand flew to cover Rosalie's mouth and her eyes hardened.

"Shh Rose. Thank you, I love it. Really, for the first time, I feel like I almost belong with you guys." Her eyes narrowed and she pulled my wrist away forcefully but not hard enough to hurt.

"You DO belong here," I opened my mouth to speak again, but the look she was sending me was enough to shut me up.

"Okay," I said quietly. She offered me a weak smile and I tried to get the conversation started again.

"So . . . Uh, what are you wearing tonight?" Her eyes sparkled and she dragged me over to her wardrobe.

Of course, it was a scarlet red mini dress.

So . . . Rosalie.

Her golden coloured tresses clashed magnificently with it and she complimented the dress with a pair of golden stilettos.

It was seven o'clock before we were ready to go and Rosalie had already shouted at the boys to go change into something nice. We descended the stairs arm in arm, chattering about where we were going and what she was going to order me from the bar, not even noticing the guys who stood at the bottom. Emmett's jaw was slack and I couldn't help but giggle when I saw him.

"Trying to catch flies?" I propped his mouth closed with one finger, which promptly fell open again once I removed it. He rushed over to Rose and I quickly averted my eyes. I didn't really want to witness an orgy between my big brother and best friend. My eyes landed on Jasper who stood leaning against the banister, also averting his eyes towards the floor. His eyes were now black and I wasn't sure if it was out of hunger or the lust he was feeling from Em and Rose.

I wandered over in his general direction and nudged him playfully in the ribs.

"Hey," His eyes darted up to meet mine and dropped to the floor again quickly, almost as if he was sulking.

"Hey," His voice was its normal syrupy smooth, silken tone, but now it had a slight edge to it that I couldn't place.

"Look, about earlier, no hard feelings? I honestly didn't realise I would be any good at video games. I normally suck ass, in fact," He cracked a small smile at that and met my eyes again.

"Sure, no hard feelings. But," he eyed Emmett carefully before leaning down to whisper in my ear. "watch out for Emmett. He doesn't take being beaten so easily. He's got some elaborate revenge planned so I thought I might give you a heads up." His cool breath fanned across my neck and the side of my face and I shivered involuntarily at the sensation. I immediately missed the feeling when he straightened back up.

"You look fantastic by the way," I blushed profusely and grinned at him.

"Thanks, and for warning me too." He offered me his arm and I wrapped my own around it.

"Shall we go, fair maiden? Or shall we stay here for a while longer and listen to our brother and sister making out?" I giggled and pretended to think about it.

"Well . . . as much as I would love the latter option, there _is_ a bar and a dance floor waiting for us and we can't keep the party from starting much longer." Rose and Emmett broke apart and he whooped loudly.

"Alright! We're going clubbing! Let's go Rosie, I can't believe you didn't tell me!" He whooped again, even louder this time, and sprinted out the door with Rose on his shoulders.

Jasper shook his head with a bemused smile playing on his lips. We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Only Emmett," I chuckled. He agreed and we followed them out the door.

Emmett was already in the truck with the engine started. He looked so excited he was almost buzzing. I giggled at the impatient expression on his face and decided to tease him a little. I slowed my walk down to a crawl and noticed Jazz do the same. Anger, frustration and a hint of longing touched the edges of my consciousness and I realised Jazz was giving me a sample of how Em was feeling. I grinned and chose to put him out of his misery. I ran to the truck and let my excitement take over, pulling myself into the seat and putting on my seatbelt.

"Come on! Let's go already!" Jasper was by my side in an instant. Emmett threw the truck into reverse and sped out of the drive. The trees flashed past and were soon replaced by street lights.

"Ah, I can already smell the pungent aroma of alcohol and sweat. I do believe the club you are looking for is that way." Jasper pointed down a street to the left where bright purple and blue neon lights flashed, and where already a huge queue had formed outside.

"Aww man! How are we gonna get in there before twelve? It's gonna take forever!" I was so disappointed. If we wanted in there any time soon, we were going to have to find some sort of back entrance that wasn't heavily guarded by bouncers.

"Hey, chill little sis'. We'll get in no bother, just watch." Emmett pulled up right in front of the club and parked outside the door.

"Em, you can't park here, its double yellows." He laughed at my warning and turned off the engine.

"There is much to learn, young grasshopper. So much I have still to teach you." I crossed my arms and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Whatever. Hey wait on me!" they had already gotten out of the jeep and were patiently, or on Emmett's part not so much, waiting on me. I clambered down from the high seat and Jasper stuck his hand out to help me down like the good southern gentleman he was.

Rose had already walked straight up to the huge bouncer and was now whispering in his ear, one hand placed delicately on his broad shoulder while the other traced patterns onto his chest. I noticed the huge silly grin across his face as he pulled back the velvet rope and watched Rosalie's ass as she sashayed all the way into the club. The grin was quickly wiped from his face as Emmett, easily twice his size, glared daggers at him in the passing. I could audibly hear his knuckles cracking. Jasper pushed me forward a little and I realised that the bouncer was now staring expectantly at us. I hurried forward and sent a smile at the poor boy. Surely dealing with an angry Emmett couldn't have been fun for him.

"Hey doll, I'm Greg. What's your name?" His voice was rugged but smooth, and I noticed he wasn't bad looking either. He had very nice brown eyes.

"Bella. Thanks for letting us in by the way," He smiled, displaying a row of perfectly straight white teeth.

"Well Bella, that's no problem whatsoever. I always have an allowance for beautiful girls like you." I blushed a deep red.

"Thanks, but what about our boys here? Don't tell me they're pretty woman as well. You'll just inflate Jasper's ego I'm afraid." I smirked teasingly at Jasper and noticed he was glaring at the man much like Emmett had.

"Keep your smooth lines for another girl," He threatened.

I frowned at him. Smooth lines? He was just being nice to me.

"Jazz, leave him alone." He shook his head and stared at Greg.

"I'm warning you. Don't even try anything." Greg looked nervous.

"Ha. Yeah. Well you two enjoy your night now," I smiled at him and grabbed Jasper's arm.

"Come on Jazz, we need to find Rose and Em." I dragged him by my grip on his forearm through the door and into the already thumping club.

"Jasper, what the hell?" He began scanning the crowd for Emmett and Rosalie.

"There they are. C'mon, they're in the V.I.P. area." He led me to a roped off area of booths where, sure enough, Emmett and Rose sat sipping martinis. The bouncer waved us in, pulling back the rope, and we went over to them.

I slid into the booth next to Rose, who was next to Emmett, and Jasper slid in behind me.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" I looked to Jasper to explain, but he deliberately looked at the waitress who was now setting our martinis on the table.

"Fine. Jasper was being an ass to the bouncer." He glared at me.

"Was not!" He huffed and began sipping his drink.

"Well what the hell was that then? He was being perfectly nice, and you're trying to kill him with your eyes! What's your problem?" I glared at him.

"Hey Griz, let's dance."

"But Rosie-"

"Now. Emmett."

"Look, you didn't feel the crap he was feeling. I didn't like him because of what he was trying to do. And I didn't think you'd really appreciate someone trying to get into your pants during the current situation. I guess I'm still very protective of you after everything." He threw back the rest of his drink and fiddled nervously with the glass. I felt bad. Jasper had been trying to protect me and I made him feel like shit over something stupid like this.

I slid a little closer to him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"Thanks Jazz. Don't worry, I'd have probably done the same thing if it were me." He smiled and waved over the waitress for another drink.

"Wait a minute, how can you even drink? Won't you get sick?" He laughed.

"Eventually, yes, but alcohol is the one thing that doesn't taste like dirt anymore. We can drink it and it will have very little effect on us, but it's nice to have one thing that reminds us of before." Huh. Well tonight should be eventful.

"So you two made up then?" Emmett was already across from us in the booth with Rose in tow.

"Yep. Now about this drinking thing, can you guys actually get drunk or just a little tipsy?" Rose laughed.

"Well that depends. If you were a lightweight as a human then you'll only get a little bit drunk. Otherwise you just get tipsy. Vampires who could hold their drink as a human don't get affected at all." Emmett held up his hand, looking thoroughly disappointed.

"Yeah, we found out that I can drink it, but there's not even any point because I won't get drunk. It sucks." I laughed at his sad face.

"Emmett, trust me. You'll get a worse hangover than all of us with the way you drink, and you won't even be half cut. Remember the aftermath last time you went out with Rose?" Emmett visibly shuddered at Jasper's words in horror.

"I don't think I'll drink THAT much tonight. I can still feel the headache," He screwed up his face in pain and gagged.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm planning on trying as many new drinks as possible." Suddenly, something dawned on Jasper.

"Wait, Bella, aren't you only eighteen?" Rose gasped.

"Hey, I forgot about that!" oh, well there's goes our evening out. "What do we do if she gets asked for ID?" Emmett puffed out of his chest and held out a hand.

"For a minute there, I thought you were going to be all responsible and not let me drink," I let out a loud laugh at the outrage on Emmett's face.

"Not let you drink? Why? Don't you want me to party with drunk Bella?" I laughed again, shaking my head at how retarded Emmett looked.

I looked into Emmett's open outstretched hand and saw a shiny plastic card.

"You got me a fake ID?" I beamed at him and ran to the bar.

"I'll have four flaming shots please!" the barman slid them across to me on a tray and pulled out an ornate lighter.

"Four flaming shots. Got ID?" I flashed my card at him and danced away with the tray, hoping that one of us had a tab.

"Whoa, there!" I was in the middle of trying to cross the dancefloor without burning someone when I felt a cool hand on my arm.

"Bells, you're gonna hurt yourself. Here, I'll take that; you just concentrate on not burning yourself." Jasper smiled at me and took the tray from me as I smiled gratefully back at him.

"Thanks Jazz, I almost tripped back there." He laughed quietly.

"Why am I not surprised?" He shook his head. He guided me safely back to the booth and set down the tray, allowing me to slide in first.

"Yeah! Good choice Jasper!" Emmett dived for his shot and raised it.

"Actually, Bella chose them." Emmett almost dropped it.

"What? Damn, you are way too good at this for being underage." I picked up my own shot and raised it as Jazz and Rose followed suit.

"On three blow them out and down it. Got it?" I nodded.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" The liquid hit the back of my throat, but I swallowed it despite the dull burning. Maybe this is what it felt like to be thirsty?

I suddenly got a huge rush to my head as the alcohol hit my system and giggled.

"Hey, this isn't so bad!" I grinned at Rose, who winked at me.

"Of course it isn't. You can never go wrong with shots," Emmett agreed.

"I'll get the next round. Don't worry, I'll order something creative." He grinned slyly and disappeared.

"Dance?" Rose held out her hand to me and I cringed.

"Dancing? Oh, I don't know. You know how clumsy I am, and I really can't dance." She laughed at me and grabbed my arm, puling me up.

"Come on Bella, it won't be so bad. You'll enjoy it! I'll teach you how to dance if you want?" I contemplated it before reluctantly nodding my head. She smiled encouragingly at me and dragged me out into the middle of the floor.

The base was pumping through the speakers, and bodies moved to the beat all around us. The club was alive.

"Rose, I don't know about this." I gave her a puppy dog look. "Can we please just sit down?" Rose sighed angrily.

"No Bella. You need to get over this fear of dancing in public. I know for a fact you can dance because I saw you dancing in Edward's room last week. I was out in the garden," she explained when she saw my puzzled expression.

"Fine. But you owe me. Big time." She clapped her hands together and beamed.

"Right, the first thing you do is start swaying your hips in time to the music. Good. Now let the beat move through you. Like this. See?" Rose was bouncing and dancing like crazy, but it looked like so much fun.

"Okay. So, like this?" I raised my hands above my head and let myself get carried away in the song.

"That's it Bella! See was that so hard?" I laughed and closed my eyes, throwing my head back. Rose grabbed my hand and spun me around, leading. I'd never had so much fun in my life.

We danced for the next three songs before I needed a drink.

"Come on, I think the boys miss us." Rose nodded and we made our way back to the table where the boys were laughing and sipping neon blue drinks.

"Have fun?" Jasper slid over for me to get in. I nodded and reached for a drink on the table.

It was fruity and sweet, and I would have thought it was juice but for the vodka I could taste.

"What is this?" Jasper clinked his bottle against mine.

"Blue Wicked. Good for a pacer drink because it doesn't get you hammered in one go." Awesome. It actually tasted fantastic. This stuff could get addictive.

"I got next round!" Rose disappeared and reappeared not two minutes later holding a hot pink liquid in a pitcher and four tall glasses.

"Sex on The Beach anyone?" Emmett grinned suggestively as she sat down and I closed my eyes not a minute too soon as he made a grab for her ass. I heard Jazz groaning and sneaked a look under my half closed eyelid at him. He had covered his ears and was facing me with his eyes screwed shut.

"Okay guys, not here not now please," I said loudly, trying to ignore the moaning coming from the other side of the table. "We ARE in a public place you know!" the noises stopped and I wondered if it was safe to open my eyes.

Nope.

"AH! My virgin eyes!" What? Evidently, Jazz had decided to check if it was safe the moment I thought of it.

"What are you talking about? There is no way in hell that statement has any viable information in it." I squinted at him and he looked slightly embarrassed.

"Eh, well the saying fitted the moment." I rolled my eyes at him and peeked over the table. Rose and Emmett had apparently broken apart at Jasper's strange outburst and were now staring at him oddly.

"Quite finished?" Emmett opened his mouth to respond and I held up a finger.

"I don't really want to hear your answer Em, because it will no doubt hold a reference to your manhood, and I don't need that image in my head any more than I wanted the last one." Emmett guffawed loudly and slurped his drink.

I spent the next half hour with Rose dancing or watching her and Em "get down on it" as he had put it on the dancefloor with Jazz. We had a great laugh and he even invited me to dance.

I looked around nervously at all the couples on the floor. Was this a good idea?

Jasper must have noticed the look on my face and he smiled softly.

"Don't worry Bells."

And I didn't. It must have been something in his crooked grin or his encouraging eyes, but it made me smile back and accept his hand.

He led me out with a fancy flourish and twirled me around.

Was it just me or was the room suddenly so much hotter? My cheeks had coloured lightly, I could feel, as he made a polite bow of his head.

A slow song had come on, and I recognized the opening bars of Fix You by Coldplay. I stepped closer to him and put my arms around his neck as he wound his own around my waist. I carefully laid my head on his shoulder and we joined in with many of the other dancing couples in slowly rotating.

"When you try your best, but you don't succeed,

When you get what you want but not what you need,

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep,

Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face.

When you lose something you can't replace.

When you love someone but it goes to waste.

Could it be worse?"

Tears sprang to my eyes as Jasper quietly sang in my ear. The lyrics hit home and I clutched him tighter.

"Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones.

And I will try,

To fix you."

I buried my face in his shoulder, trying not to ruin his shirt and sang the next few lines.

"And high up above or down below,

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try then you'll never know.

Just watch your words.

Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones

And I will try

To fix you."

I pulled back to aim a watery smile in his direction, and he returned it with a weak one of his own.

"Thank you for being here for me these past couple of days. I may not have shown it, but they have been really hard for me, and you have guided me the whole way with a strong arm, stopping the mental breakdown which is inevitable." He brought his hands to my face and wiped away the few stray tears which had escaped the corners of my eyes.

"You have helped me just as much as I have tried to help you. Remember darlin, we're in this together." I smiled and hugged him tightly then muttered more to myself than anyone else "Think I need another drink."

He laughed and left for the bar, making a stay motion.

I looked over to our booth and saw Rose's legs sticking out one side. I shuddered, thinking about what they might be doing up there. Well, I suppose they were easily distracted.

I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder and turned to smile at Jasper.

"Well, that was fa-" I closed my mouth. It wasn't Jasper, but the bouncer we had met earlier.

"Hey doll, remember me?" He flashed me his sparkling white teeth and I smiled vaguely back.

"George, right?" his eyes hardened for an instant but it was gone when I looked twice.

"Greg, doll. We didn't really get a chance to speak earlier and I wondered if we could get to know each other a little better. How does that sound?" I opened my mouth to politely tell him no when he put his hand on my waist.

"Come on babe, one dance?" I began to shake my head and then stopped. Why the hell not? I'm a free woman now! I flashed him a smile.

Sure, one dance can't hurt, right?" He grabbed my waist with both hands and pulled me closer to him and onto the dancefloor. I frowned slightly at that but passed it off.

The music was once again pounding through the speakers and the floor was full of writhing bodies.

I placed my hands lightly on his broad shoulders and began dancing like Rose had taught me. Eventually I had just let him go entirely and was dancing by myself. I had been crouched down and was just coming out of my bend when I felt large hands near the tops of my knees.

I looked back to see Greg smiling at me and shrugged, turning back to my dancing. Then I felt his hands slide further up. I swatted them lightly as a warning and he slid them down again. Not a minute later and they were sliding up again. I slapped them harder this time, but he didn't stop. He was pushing my skirt up with one hand and his other was sliding up the inside of my thigh. I pulled away quickly and turned to face him.

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" Greg's eyes were half lidded and he grinned lazily.

"I'm trying to have a good time, isn't that what you want?" I narrowed my eyes at him and pulled my skirt back down.

"No, I just wanted to dance. I have no interest in being a slut thank you very much!" He looked confused now.

"But you agreed to dance with me!" I saw red.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want you to – to do stuff like that!" He frowned at me now and stepped closer.

"Babe, you know you want me. You have been playing hard to get all night with that blonde guard dog of yours, but you're telling me you didn't see me and send him off? Forgetting my name was a good touch by the way." His hands had returned to my hips and were now working towards the opposite direction. I stepped out of his reach again and drew back my arm to punch him in the face.

"I may be drunk, but I'm not pissed enough to do that!" I turned around and stormed away towards our table, leaving him clutching him jaw with blazing eyes. A hand caught my arm.

"Did you not get the message?" I spun around with fire in my eyes, only to see a concerned Jasper. My eyes softened immediately and I collapsed into his arms.

"Bella!" He said alarmed. "What the hell happened?" I shook my head and instead took solace in his arms. He led me back to the table, not once letting me go or stopping his hand which brushed my hair from my face. He must have been pumping calming waves into my system, because I was a lot mellower by the time I reached the booth.

Rose and Emmett were instantly alert.

"What the hell happened to you?" Rose slid over to put her arms around me as I visibly shook.

"A guy asked me to dance so I said yes. I thought, well, you know. I'm free now to do what I like, so what's the worst that could happen if I danced with one guy?" Rose nodded patiently. "So I start dancing with him, but then his hands are on my legs. So I slap them away and keep dancing, figuring that he'd stop. But he started again, you see, and I slap him harder, but this time he doesn't stop, and he lifts up my skirt -" Jasper growled loudly as I turned to look at him with tear filled eyes.

"Which one was it?" I shook my head.

"I can't remember. I just know that he didn't do anything before I got a good punch in." He shook his head angrily.

"That's bullshit and you know it Bells. I can tell you're lying. You need to tell me which one it was or at least what he looked like." I was scared. Jasper looked ready to murder someone, and after his past, I knew how easy it would be to slip.

"Please, Jazz! Nothing happened, I'm just shaken! You'll end up hurting someone, and I already punched him. Can you just leave it? Please." He stared at me for a long time, indecision in his dark yellow eyes. He sighed.

"Only because it's you. I just don't want you to get hurt again, but I know I'll be the one hurting you if I go after him." Emmett slammed the table with his fist.

"But that doesn't mean we can't torture him first!" He was angrier than Jasper.

"No piece of filth touches my baby sister and gets away with it!" I groaned.

"Emmett! Don't start, please. I love you too, but I don't want anyone getting hurt over me. Nothing happened and nobody was hurt, so why should they be attacked out of the blue?" Rose put her hand on Em's arm, giving him a meaningful look. Her eyes were as fierce as the other two's but her expression was calm.

"Look, I was upset, but I dealt with it. Let's not let it ruin our night, please?" Jasper's glare softened and he called the bartender over. He noticed my raised eyebrow.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight again all night." I rolled my eyes, but was grateful. He patted my hand, obviously feeling it.

"Let's just concentrate on the rest of the night and have fun, eh?" I smiled and accepted yet another drink.

I am soooo sorry at the lateness D: I am SWAMPED with exams right now, and it's really hard to concentrate on this story. I don't think this was a great cut off point, and I'm sorry for that, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I just uploaded a Harry Potter fanfic if anyone is interested. It's a Hermione x Draco story and I've only got the first chappie so far, updates will be as spontaneous as ever.

Thanks! :D x


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